


For My Own Sake

by HorrorSkit



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Strip Tease, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Stripping, Voltron au, Yeehaw AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 22:27:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15672537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HorrorSkit/pseuds/HorrorSkit
Summary: When Keith goes to see Shiro at the club, an unexpected encounter causes him to get into a fight with Shiro. How will they deal with it, and can they recover? Set in @buffshiro's Yeehaw AU. Rated M just in case!





	For My Own Sake

**Author's Note:**

  * For [buffshiro](https://archiveofourown.org/users/buffshiro/gifts).



> This takes place in @buffshiro's yeehaw au. This is my very first time writing and posting a fanfiction story. It took me quite awhile to finish this, but I hope you all enjoy it. I began writing this prior to the release of season 7, and made this in response to buffshiro's call for angst. But I'm just too soft not to include some fluff. I claim no ownership of anything written here. All I ask is that you read and enjoy it!

The early light of day creeped over the horizon of Lion. Rays of light shone through the windows of the Kogane household, rousing Keith from his sleep as a beam set itself directly over his eyes. He grumbled, turning away from the window and unconsciously wondering why he didn’t close the curtains last night. As he opened his eyes he was greeted to the sight of Shiro’s sleeping form laying in front of him.

Shiro’s face was half buried in the pillow, his lips slightly parted as he quietly snored in his sleep. His white hair fell delicately across his forehead and lightly grazed the surface of the pillow. Keith smiled, staring at the soft sleeping expression on his boyfriend’s face. Shiro was always happy and smiling, but there was something entrancing about seeing him look blissfully calm. Keith reached up and ran his hand delicately across the side of Shiro’s face. He leaned up and kissed his forehead, making Shiro stir. Shiro slighty turned his head upward and opened one of his eyes to see what was touching him.

“Morning darlin’,” Keith spoke softly. He leaned forward and placed a proper kiss on his lips now that they weren’t buried in the pillow. Shiro was still half asleep so he couldn’t fully kiss back. Instead he lay there embracing the sweet taste of his boyfriend’s lips.

“Morning,” Shiro sighed, looking up to see the sunlight shine brightly behind Keith’s looming body. If he wasn’t so sore and drowsy from the long night he had before, he would have sworn he had died and gone to heaven. Seeing Keith’s hair fall freely from the sides while the shining light gave him a halo made Keith look like a straight up angel.

Keith cupped the side of Shiro’s face to keep his attention. Shiro was prone to falling back asleep rather quickly this early in the morning. A drawback from working long nights at the strip club. “I gotta get ready to head out to the farm now. You work today?”

“Mmmm yeah, later tonight,” Shiro brought his metal arm up to rub the sleep out of his eyes, placing it against the hand Keith had cupped against his face when he was finished, “You gonna stop by?”

“If I finish early I will come cheer for you. Mom and pa are bringing the new tractor to bail the hay today, so we should be able to finish earlier than usual.”

Shiro shifted so he was laying fully on his back, using his free hand to grab at Keith waist and rub his side, “It’s sailor night if that helps at all,” Shiro said, his seductive tone mixed with an air of drowsiness. 

Keith pulled his hand away from Shiro’s face to lock hands with the one Shiro had placed against it. He pulled Shiro’s arm up, pining it to the bed and settling his body right on top of his, “Well I think I’ll have to work extra hard today then,” Keith pushing his groin into Shiro’s to emphasize his point.

Shiro chuckled, “Hmm, perv.”

“Stripper,” Keith playful poked.

Shiro leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, “Love you.”

“Love you too,” he smiled. He got up and left to get ready for the hard day’s work ahead of him. He would have loved to take time to wake up Shiro properly. Well, maybe proper wasn’t the right word for the sinful things he had in mind for the silver fox lying in his bed, but all the same he had to go. Keith quickly showered and got dressed, leaving Shiro to fall back asleep in the comfort of their shared bed.

XXXXXXX

It had been a long day. It took much longer than anticipated to finish up at the farm. The new tractor had no gas when it arrived, so it was a chore in itself to go into town and get fuel for it. Keith might not have made it in time for Shiro’s last dance if Krolia hadn’t noticed that Keith was being antsy and trying to finish quickly. Whenever he got like that she knew he was desperate to go see Shiro. Keith was always so calm and collected at the farm. He always seemed to be at peace in the open air and working with the animals. Shiro was the only person she knew that could make Keith anxious, even when he was at work. She let him sneak off just before they were finished so he could go see him.

When Keith arrived at the club everything was in full swing. The middle of the night was easily the busiest time of night for obvious reasons. People were sitting at the bar and ordering drinks by the table, nearly overwhelming the bartender. Keith had seen him a few times, but he didn’t know his name. Was it Jordan? James? It didn’t really matter. Keith could also see one of the bouncers standing by the bar. A Galran named Thace. Shiro had mentioned him a few times. He was often the one who had to kick out rowdy guests, and was usually involved in some of Shiro’s more interesting stories. Pidge’s brother Matt also worked as one of the bouncers, which made him friends with Shiro, and was how Lance had discovered this place in the first place. 

At the other end of the club was the stage, which understandably covered most of the space of the club. Off to the right was the door backstage, where the main office was located along with the changing rooms and employee lockers. To the left of the stage was the hallway entrance that led to the private dance rooms and VIP lounge. In the corner of the club by the bar was a sitting area where people could drink, socialize, and get public lap dances as dancers canvased the floor. Lance had tried to get Keith to agree to one when they were here for Keith’s 21st birthday, but there was no way he was letting that happen. Of course that tricky bastard had gotten Shiro to agree to give him a private dance instead. Keith had been initially pissed, but that was quickly forgotten when Shiro took him by the hand to lead him to one of the back rooms. Keith supposed he should be grateful to Lance at this point. After all that private dance was the moment that he and Shiro first met officially.

Speaking of Shiro, Keith made his way to the stage area. It was a large stage that stretched mostly across the back wall. At the center was the stripper pole where Shiro did most of his dancing. At the front center of the stage was a long runway where the dancers could get close to their customers and pick up tips. At the end of it was another stripper pole. It was the more popular spot for the dancers to work because of all the seats that line both side of the runway, but Shiro didn’t use it as often because it didn’t provide him the space to use his more acrobatic dance moves. Not that he needed to. Once the audience saw him lift himself up vertically and spin around the pole they were usually throwing money at the stage.

Keith moved up to the stage and weaved his way through the crowd. He moved past the runway where everyone was gathered and sat to the far left of the stage where it was empty. Except for one guy sitting to his right, the spot was pretty secluded since it didn’t get much dancer traffic.

As the last dancer got off the stage, some girl that Keith didn’t recognize, Coran’s voice came booming through the intercom. From what Shiro told him, Coran ran the soundboard and stage productions. Keith had only met him once or twice in person, but it was hard to deny he had a flair for showmanship. Every theme night and music choice always went off without a hitch.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our next sexy sailor, Shiro!” Coran called.

The audience broke out into a cheer as Shiro walked out onto the stage. Some were excited to see a new performer on stage, while a few regulars in the audience were well aware of Shiro’s talent and impressive build. As he walked out onto the stage he was clad in a skintight white sailor vest, leaving his muscular arms fully on display. A light blue ascot was tied snugly around his neck, drawing attention to Shiro’s exposed chest above the vest neckline. Damn. Was Coran in charge of costumes too? Because that was a damn good sight. The pants Shiro had on were a little baggy, but they obviously tear away pants and wouldn’t be on for very long anyway. Yet somehow it managed to cling perfectly to his ass. Keith often teased Shiro and his massive backside, but it was definitely one of his best features. At least it was one of Keith’s favorite features, despite the fact that everything else about Shiro was damn near perfect.

Just as Keith finished his thought Shiro grabbed the hemline of his pants and ripped them off, leaving him in tiny white booty shorts. 

“Woooo!”

“Yeah!”

“Yeah, take it off baby!”

The crowd roared, making the usual catcalls as Shiro danced. Shiro twirled around the pole at center stage, scanning the audience. When he caught sight of Keith he stopped spinning and winked in his direction, taking the sailor cap off his head and throwing it into the crowd. A few girls fought over it as it fell into their laps, but that was nothing new. 

He grabbed hold of the pole and spun himself upside down, looping his leg around the pole to hold him in place. As he hung there suspended in the air he ripped open his vest and dropped it on the ground. Just as Keith thought, the crowd cheered loudly, throwing money at the stage. The dim lighting made it hard to see the scars on Shiro’s body, but there was no denying those muscles. He loosened his leg’s grip on the pole and slid down until his back was resting on the floor. He rolled on his back until he was on his feet, crouching forward to give the crowd a view of his ass. 

He stood up and made his way down the runway, dressed only in his booty shorts and blue ascot. He rubbed his chest up and down until he made it to the end of the stage. He grabbed the pole and did a quick spin to get the crowd riled up. Shiro turned around and looked in Keith’s direction and smiled smugly. He grabbed his booty shirts and tore them off, leaving him in only his g string. The crowd got deafeningly loud as they were faced with Shiro’s perfectly sculpted ass, covered only by a thin line of fabric. He shook his ass for the audience and they all held out money for him to take. He made his way up the runway, dropping down and shaking his ass for the audience as he picked up tips. 

“Come on boy, take it all off!” the man next to Keith had shouted. He was cheering along with the rest of the crowd, but Keith hadn’t been paying attention. However, something about that last line got to Keith and made him feel uneasy.

“I don’t think it’s that kind of strip club buddy,” Keith said, taking his eyes of Shiro and the cash that was lining his thong to get a better look at the man standing next to him. He looked like he was in about his thirties, a healthy build with short spiky brown hair, and wearing business suit. 

The man looked down at Keith and waved him off, obviously judging his country appearance, “Eh the fuck do you know? They’re just up there to get naked. It’s not like they got anything else to offer.”

Keith’s eyebrow twitched in irritation. Okay, so this guy was a major tool and asshole. Before Keith did something he would regret, he took a breath and got up from his seat, “I’m gonna change seats,” Keith said without looking at the man.

“Yeah you do that,” the guy said, waving his hand in Keith’s direction as if Keith was the pest. Damn what a dick! Keith could hardly believe the way some of these people acted sometimes. The fact that the club was right between a small town and a big city gave it a high traffic rate, but it also meant random assholes like this would show up from time to time. Keith looked around and found himself boxed in by the crowd, so he moved to rest against the railing to the far left that separated the stage area from the rest of the club.

As Keith looked back up at the stage Shiro was doing one final acrobatic spin on the pole as the music began to die down. He landed on his feet, smacking his ass for the crowd before he made his way backstage. Keith smirked. Cheeky bastard.

The crowd died down as the stage emptied, a few of them moving to the lounge area to get lap dances, a few others made their way toward the bar. It took a few minutes before Coran’s voice came bursting through the intercom again. “Alright. Next up we have the lovely Acxa!”

As Acxa came out on the stage the crowd started back up again, some new people making their way to the stage as she walked out. Keith saw Shiro come out from the backstage entrance and make his way through the crowd towards him. Shiro was dressed in a pair of form fitting jeans and a simple flannel shirt. Keith hadn’t seen him all day, so he must have borrowed one of Keith’s shirts without him even realizing. Keith felt himself blush at the idea of Shiro wearing his shirt all day. Somehow that idea was more of a turn on than seeing Shiro dance around half naked on stage.

Keith stood up to and made his way over to Shiro. But before they could meet up, the noisy customer Keith moved away from earlier stood up and blocked Shiro’s path.

“Hey there hot stuff, how much for a private dance?”

Shiro looked a little uncomfortable, but this was unlikely a new experience for him, “Uh, sorry, I’m not available for those,” he politely answered.

Shiro tried to sidestep him but the man moved in front of Shiro again, “C’mon babe. I’ll make it worth your while,” he said holding up a wad of cash. Keith held back, thinking it was best that Shiro dealt with the situation on his own. It was his job after all, and he was used to this kind of thing. 

“I’m off shift,” Shiro said flatly. He brushed past the man, hoping to show his disinterest.

Keith smiled as Shiro moved past the suit and made his way toward Keith. But the man reached out and grabbed Shiro by his human arm. Shiro winced in surprise as the man was becoming a little more aggressive, “What’s the big deal? You take off your clothes for strangers all the time. It’s not like you’ve got dignity or anything.”

Shiro had turned to look at the man so Keith couldn’t see his expression, but he had to assume that comment had offended him. And that hint of a wince of pain Shiro gave nearly set Keith off.

Keith quickly closed the distance and pulled Shiro away from the man, standing between them like a human shield, “Hey! I think he said to leave him alone.”

“Keith, it’s okay, I…” Shiro tried to start, but he was cut off by the man’s response.

“What the fuck do you care?!” he yelled pushing Keith away from him by the chest, “He’s just another whore.”

That was it. Keith had gotten better at controlling his long history of anger issues, but that last comment caused something in him to snap. He grabbed the man by the hem of his suit and punched him, sending him reeling back. 

“KEITH!” Shiro cried out.

Keith charged after the man. The man dodged his first punch and tried to throw his own. Keith easily dodged him, punching him in the face again. He quickly went down, Keith jumping on top to continue punching him over and over again. The sounds around him seemed to dull out into a high pitch whistle, his eyes turning yellow without him even realizing it. 

“Thace!” he heard a familiar female voice call out. But that didn’t stop him. This disgusting man treated Shiro like he was nothing. He disrespected him. Wanted to use him like some meaningless object! There was no way he was going to get….

“KEITH STOP!” he heard Shiro cry out. He was stunned as Shiro’s cries were no longer coming from behind him, but were right in his face. He looked up to see Shiro with an unreadable expression he had never seen before. Shiro looked angry and upset, but at the same time he looked sad, like he was going to start crying at any moment. Keith froze, feeling pain shoot through his heart as he realized he was the cause for Shiro making such a face. He felt trapped in that moment, not even bothering to struggle as Thace came up behind him and pulled him off the man who had been reduced to a bloody pulp.

XXXXXXX

Thace had taken Keith to the main office in the club, leaving him there to cool off. Of course he hadn’t realized that Shiro’s broken expression had already done that. He sat in one of the office chairs, thinking about how he could possibly apologize and make up for this. He sat there for quite awhile, lost in his own thoughts before he heard the door open behind him. He looked up expectantly, hoping it was Shiro coming in to talk to him. Instead he was greeted to the sight of Allura, her hair pulled up in a bun and wearing a black dress that dropped down to her knees. It was somewhat of a sultry look, but it was modest enough to give her an air of sophistication. Perfect for the woman who ran the night club.

“Luckily for you, that man doesn’t remember you bashing his face into the floor” Allura said, rounding the desk to sit in her chair and face Keith. She leaned back in the chair, throwing one arm back over the side as she crossed her legs, “Apparently you walloped him pretty good. In addition to beating him to bloody pulp, you also gave him a minor case of amnesia. Honestly I didn’t think something like that was possible outside of soap operas. The man’s so delirious he doesn’t remember anything from the past few hours, except that he’s in pain of course. We managed to convince him that he got too aggressive with the dancers, which wasn’t much of a stretch. He doesn’t exactly seem like a class act, no matter how he may dress.”

Keith hung his head in shame, “I’m sorry Allura.”

Allura scoffed, “Really it’s Coran you should be apologizing to,” she uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, placing her elbows on the desk, “You messed up his whole stage production schedule with that little scene of yours. And I don’t know if Shiro told you, but Coran loves organizing stage performances.”

Keith was still unable to look at her properly, “I’m just… I got so mad hearing him talk that way about Shiro. I never get angry or jealous when it comes to Shiro. I know this is what he does, and I support him. I will always support him….”

“And that’s great,” she quickly cut in, “but jealousy is natural. You can’t just pretend it doesn’t bother you when someone disrespects the person you love,” Keith finally looked up at her, surprised to see genuine understanding from her instead of a scolding look, “But you can’t just blow up like that either.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Allura stood up and walked over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder, “You should go talk to Shiro. We’ve got everything handled here,” she smiled at him.

Keith smiled half-heartedly back up at her, “Thanks.”

He stood up and walked over to the door, but was interrupted by Allura one more time before he could open it, “Just so you know, you should probably stay away from the club for at least two weeks. We don’t want the regulars to start to feel uneasy.”

Keith stood there stunned for a moment before finally answering, “Got it.”

Keith walked out of the office, seeing the crowd had thinned down by at least half. A new dancer was on the stage that Keith didn’t recognize. Rather than watch him, most of the audience turned to look at Keith instead. He felt a sense of shame and embarrassment as he walked through the club. He looked around to see if he could find Shiro, but all he could see were wandering eyes following him as he made his way to the exit. Thace stood by the bar, keeping his eyes on Keith as he made his way over. Thace gestured toward the exit, indicating that was where Shiro had gone. Keith nodded gratefully, keeping eye contact to a minimum as he still felt guilty over what had went down.

Upon exiting the club, he was greeted to the sight of Shiro sitting on the hood of Keith’s truck, holding Keith’s hat in his lap. Keith must have lost it in the fight. He was so caught up in what he done he hadn’t even realized it was missing until he saw Shiro holding it. 

Keith slowly walked up to him, unable to read Shiro’s expression, “Shiro, I…”

Shiro jumped off the hood of the car and pushed Keith’s hat into his chest, the force causing Keith to stumble back as he grabbed the hat being forced into his grip, “What were you thinking Keith?! You can’t just blow up on people like that!” Shiro yelled at him, the anger on his face no longer mistakable, “I know you have issues with anger, but I don’t want to have to worry about you beating people to a bloody pulp!”

Keith was taken aback. He had never seen Shiro like this before. His calm and peaceful demeanor was replaced with rage and irritation, and Keith was the cause of it, “I know! I’m sorry. It’s just… I didn’t like the way he was talking to you. The things he said about you,” Keith barely managed to whimper out. He didn’t want to fight with Shiro since he had been in the wrong, but Shiro needed to know why he did it.

“And that makes it okay to bash his face in?!” Shiro didn’t seem satisfied with that answer.

“No, but…” Keith tried to start, but he was cut off by Shiro once again.

“This is what I do Keith. People like him aren’t uncommon. Sometimes customers are rude and vulgar. But that’s what Thace and Matt are here for! It’s their job to control rowdy people and kick them out when things get out of hand. Not everyone respects what I do!”

Keith felt some irritation at that. This wasn’t about Shiro’s job. That’s never been a problem for Keith. He found his voice and spoke up, “He didn’t respect you! That’s what I couldn’t take!”

“I already said that Keith!”

“Damn it Shiro, just listen to me!” He wasn’t getting it. Shiro wasn’t understanding what he was trying to say, and it was getting on his nerves, “I know what I did was wrong. I know this is your job, and the policies in place. That’s not why I lost it. You think I would support you doing this if I didn’t think you were being taken care of?! That you were safe?!”

Something snapped inside of Shiro. The second Keith finished his last sentence, Shiro’s face seemed to contort into a look of pure rage, screaming at the top of his lungs, “I AM NOT A CHILD!!” Keith’s anger completely vanished, stunned by Shiro’s reaction. Keith must have said something to set him off. Shiro had never reacted like that before, not in front of him. Keith must have looked like a wounded puppy because Shiro turned his head away, unable to look at him anymore, “…………I can take care of myself.”

Shiro walked away from him towards his own car. Keith took a step toward him, reaching his hand out after him, as if he didn’t grab hold of him he would lose him forever, “Takashi…”

Shiro stopped for a moment, refusing to turn around, “Look I don’t want to talk about this now, especially not outside the club. I’ll just see you at home, okay?” Shiro kept walking, getting into his car, and then he was gone.

And that was it. Keith stood outside the club, alone, feeling lonelier than he ever had in his entire life. Like a part of himself had been ripped away, and all Keith could do was let the tears fall from his eyes.

XXXXXXX

When Keith finally got back home he found Shiro lying on the couch. He couldn’t tell if he was asleep or not, but it was probably best that he didn’t go over to check. Chances were Shiro was lying there awake, still upset over Keith’s actions. Keith went upstairs instead. All he could do was try and get some sleep and face whatever was waiting for him in the morning.

If only it were that simple. Keith tossed and turned all night, afraid of what the light of day would bring him. Would Shiro want to move out for awhile to think things over? Would they argue some more?......Would Shiro….. leave him? NO! He couldn’t think like that. It was only one incident. Shiro wouldn’t leave him over one outburst….. Would he? There were things about Shiro’s past that Keith still didn’t fully understand. Things Shiro wasn’t ready to talk about, and Keith understood that. But had tonight’s incident somehow brought up bad memories for Shiro?

Thoughts plagued Keith all night, as he prayed that Shiro would be able to forgive him. It took hours before Keith could finally fall asleep. He had no dreams that night.

XXXXXXX

Keith stirred awake as the light of day shined on his face. He had forgotten to close the window curtains again, but he had more troubling things on his mind last night. Keith got up and made his way downstairs. Chances were Shiro was still asleep. Maybe he could make some coffee and get ahold of himself before Shiro inevitably confronted him.

“Morning.”

Keith looked up in surprise as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Shiro was standing in the kitchen, dressed only in his pajama pants, and holding a cup of coffee. Keith should have figured he would get up early considering everything that happened. Even more surpirising, Shiro didn’t look angry or upset. He didn’t look like he was feeling anything.

Keith was perplexed by Shiro’s calm demeanor, unsure of how to approach the situation, “Morning….. Are you ready to talk?” he asked tentatively.

“I didn’t sleep much last night, so I had time to think.” Shiro put his coffee down and sat at the island table, gesturing to the chair across from him, “Come sit.”

Oh god, that didn’t sound good. Keith took his seat across from Shiro, trying not to let his panic show, “Soooo, what did you think about?”

Shiro sighed, “I wanted to say, I’m sorry,” well that certainly wasn’t what Keith was expecting. He breathed an internal sigh of relief as Shiro continued, “I blew up on you last night, and you didn’t deserve that. I know you. I know how hard you are on yourself when you lose control of your anger like that, and me attacking you probably didn’t help that much.”

Well at least he didn’t seem angry at Keith anymore, “Not really, but you had a right to be upset. I caused a scene at your work.”

“Why did you? What happened Keith? You’ve visited me at work plenty of times. You’ve never lost it on a customer like that before.”

Keith took a deep breath. Shiro was calm now, and maybe he would be more willing to listen and understand where Keith was coming from this time, “It had nothing to do with your job or what you do. It was that guy. The fact that he didn’t respect you as a person. As an individual with your own experiences and feelings. And then seeing him grab you… and talk down to you like you weren’t worth anything. I just….snapped. You mean everything to me, and I couldn’t tolerate him treating you like you were less than. I won’t tolerate anyone treating you like that”

Shiro sighed, “I’m not made of glass Keith. I’m not gonna break,” So that was it. Keith had talked down to him like he was some fragile damsel in distress. That had to be what made Shiro lose it last night.

Keith reached across the table and grabbed Shiro’s hands, holding them tight, “I know. I don’t think you’re fragile or weak. You’ve been through so much. More than I can ever imagine, and you found your way back to normal again. You made a new life for yourself on your own terms. So I don’t think you’re weak. Honestly, I think you’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever known.”

Shiro cracked a halfhearted smile, “Thank you Keith. I’m glad you think so much of me.”

“I mean it!” Keith squeezed his hands, “And someone as amazing as you saw something in me. Something I didn’t even know was there until you came into my life. Before you, I didn’t even know I was capable of feeling like this…. The way I feel about you. That’s why I care about you Shiro! I’ll protect you for my own sake! Not because you’re weak.” 

Shiro looked stunned by his words, unmoving until tears started to flow from his eyes. Shiro’s face twisted in anguish as he pulled his hands free from Keith’s grip and buried his face into them. Keith freaked out, jumping out of his seat and rushing to his side, “Shiro! What’s wrong?!”

Shiro sniffled, rubbing the tears out of his eyes. He tilted his head upwards, a sad smile gracing his features as the tears continued to well up in his eyes, “I’m sorry. I’m just really happy.”

Keith blushed. Even though Shiro looked so distressed, tears running down his smiling face, Keith couldn’t help but think about how beautiful he looked. He smiled back down at him, “Well, this is kind of a strange way of showing it darlin’.”

Shiro turned in his seat and hugged Keith, burying his face in his chest, “I didn’t want to admit it, but what that guy said last night really did get to me. He made me feel so…. insignificant. And I think I pushed those feelings on you so I wouldn’t have to deal with them. But hearing you say how much I mean to you just now, it’s a little overwhelming. I guess I’m still not used to someone valuing me as much as you do.”

Keith reached under Shiro’s chin and tilted his face up to look at him, “Well get used to it. I’ll help,” he leaned forward and kissed Shiro on the forehead.

“I love you,” Shiro cried.

“I love you too. And I don’t want you to ever feel like you’re dirty or insignificant. I’ve never met someone as beautiful as you, inside and out,” Keith brushed the remaining drops of tears from Shiro’s eyes, “And seeing you dance on stage, you shine just like starlight.”

Shiro laughed, “You’re so corny.”

“You love it.”

“I do,” Shiro said, hugging him tighter.

Keith kissed the top of his head, running his hand through Shiro’s hair, “And I promise to control my anger better. I’ll never get jealous or start a fight ever again.”

Keith could feel Shiro scoff into his chest as he pulled away to look up, “Well, that’s not very realistic. You can’t help what you feel. Besides, after hearing your reasoning, I kinda like that you got so defensive over me. Even if it was for selfish reasons,” Keith’s face lit up bright red, “So just promise me you won’t get out of hand at my work anymore. I’d hate for you to miss out on my performances. I mean we have the pole here at home, but there’s nothing like a good stage setting,” he smiled.

Keith chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head, “Yeah about that.”

“What?” Shiro’s tone immediately shifted to an accusing one.

Keith let go of Shiro and took a cautionary step backward, “Allura said I shouldn’t come by the club for at least two weeks so I don’t upset the other customers.”

“Babe!” Shiro yelled, a mix of both surprise and irritation as he stood to his feet.

Keith held his hands up in surrender, backing away from Shiro, who was making his way towards him in a menacing manner, “Sorry darlin’. Looks like I’m gonna miss your performances for awhile.”

Keith’s back hit the counter. With nowhere left to flee Shiro came up on him, placing his arms on both sides of the counter to trap Keith in. He smiled devilishly down at Keith, “Well, to make it up to me, you’re gonna put on private shows for me here at home.”

Keith nearly stuttered, “Seriously?!” Keith was a notoriously bad dancer. He had even broken his arm once trying to do a pole dance for Shiro at home. 

“Very!” Shiro took his left hand and began tracing his finger across Keith’s chest, “I think I’ll borrow some costumes from the club too. I’m kinda curious what you’d look like in a police uniform.”

Keith grabbed Shiro’s hand and pulled him in for a deep kiss. He leaned his head against Shiro’s and whispered, “Perv.”

Shiro chuckled, “Stripper.”

They spent the rest of the day in bliss. And once Keith was allowed to return to the club, he kept his promise and never got angry again. In fact, he learned to take joy in seeing the bouncers kick out people who tried to get a little too handsy with Shiro. And he especially enjoyed the rare occasions when Shiro was the one to put those punks in their place. It filled Keith with love and pride. Shiro was all his, and no one else’s.

**Author's Note:**

> I've never posted anything to this sight before so I hope it turned out okay. Please go check out @buffshiro on twitter for some amazing art and illustrations of this wonderful AU


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